Twitch tops 1 million monthly broadcasters, renames corporate parent

Upon reaching a staggering one million monthly active broadcasters, Twitch has announced that it would be renaming it's corporate parent name to Twitch Interactive, Inc. Justin.tv will still stick around for now, but the company smarty choose to push the Twitch brand up front.

Announcement below with even more stats and figures.

Twitch, the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers, today announced Twitch Interactive, Inc. is replacing Justin.tv, Inc. as the company’s corporate umbrella name. Justin.tv will still remain as a mature product of Twitch Interactive. This corporate change comes on the heels of Twitch reaching milestones of more than one million monthly active broadcasters and averaging 13 billion minutes watched per month.

The decision to rename the company was based on the immense growth of Twitch, a brand which currently attracts more than 45 million viewers per month since launching in June, 2011. In addition to the broadcaster and minutes watched milestones, viewers spend an average of 106 minutes watched per person per day illustrating a staggering level of engagement.

“As Twitch has continued to grow as the leader of the video game streaming space, it has eclipsed our previous initiatives. Given our total focus on serving the gaming community it makes sense to reposition it as our primary brand,” said Emmett Shear, CEO and Founder, Twitch. “Seven years ago, Justin.tv pioneered live video on the Web, and while I remain proud of all the work we did under that name, I'm even more excited about our new future as Twitch."

Twitch attributes the latest growth in broadcasters and popularity to its integration into Sony Computer Entertainment’s PlayStation4 (PS4) computer entertainment system. Less than two months after the console launched, 20% of Twitch broadcasters were PS4 owners. With the upcoming integration of Twitch broadcasting functionality into Xbox One, the all-in-one gaming and entertainment system from Microsoft Corp., the console broadcasting community is expected to get another large infusion of members.

According to top analysts, Twitch has secured a significant place in the ever growing live streaming movement. This spans its recent console integrations and publisher appeal to its global presence:

"Twitch has taken the lead in live streaming by attracting users on PS4, which is only going to become more solidified when Twitch broadcasting is available on Xbox One," said Michael Pachter, video game analyst, Wedbush Securities. "The first mover advantage on these consoles is a real one, as it will be difficult for Twitch competitors to get users to switch."

Jesse Divnich, Vice President of Insights at EEDAR states, "Twitch has broken down significant technical barriers by enabling gamers to share their experiences in a live and interactive fashion with millions around the world. Because this type of virality can't be bought, it makes it extremely valuable for publishers and one of the more influential sources of awareness and purchase intent."

And providing an international perspective is Peter Warman, CEO, Newzoo. “Live video streaming is experiencing an unprecedented boom on a global scale. All said and done, Twitch is the company that has been in the driver’s seat from day one.”

While Twitch has become the primary brand for the company, Justin.tv continues to thrive with a host of popular categories, including Poker, News, Entertainment and the recent addition of Creativity. Creativity has been the fastest growing destination on Justin.tv with an array of artists spanning animation, modeling, coding and other creative endeavors.